Arsenal icon Paul Merson has predicted his former side WILL squeeze past Liverpool and win at Anfield on Sunday.
The current Premier League leaders travel to Merseyside in a weekend that could be crucial to the title race. Mikel Arteta’s men take on a Liverpool side woefully out of form less than 24 hours after champions Manchester City face rock bottom Southampton at St Mary's.
The Reds have not won in four matches since their 7-0 win over Manchester United, scoring just once in those games - albeit all have been away from Anfield. That leaves Jurgen Klopp’s men languishing in eighth in the table with Arsenal now having a wonderful opportunity to earn their first victory at Anfield since 2012.
Gunners hero Merson does not believe it will be straight forward for the North Londoners against Mohamed Salah and co however. But he does believe they'll have enough to get the job done.
Explaining his prediction of a 2-1 win for Arsenal to sportskeeda, he said: “This game is a worry for Arsenal. Liverpool did not play [Mohamed] Salah, [Virgil] Van Dijk, [Andy] Robertson, or [Trent] Alexander-Arnold against Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp could be saving these players for Arsenal. I’d be shocked if they don’t play this game.
“It seems like the Arsenal game at home is more important to Jurgen Klopp, and that would worry me as an Arsenal fan. If Arsenal win this game, I think they win the Premier League.
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“They still have a game against an excellent Newcastle side, but Arsenal won’t have to beat them if they can get the better of Liverpool. If they win this game, they would have to have a major meltdown to lose the title race.
“Jurgen Klopp wants his Liverpool side to play a certain way, and his team doesn’t have the legs to pull it off at the moment. It wasn’t too long ago that Liverpool were smashing Manchester United at home. This is going to be a difficult game for Arsenal, and a victory here would seal the Premier League title for me.”
Arsenal head to Anfield in scintillating form under Arteta. Their 4-1 win over Leeds last time out made it seven consecutive successes in the Premier League.
An eighth league win on the spin would be the first time they've hit that mark since 2015, during the tenure of Arsene Wenger. However, another Gunners hero, Ray Parlour, is not expecting another win this time.
Speaking to NetBet, he said: "If Arsenal get a result here it’s another big sign that these players are the real deal and that they can go all the way. Manchester City will start panicking if Arsenal keep picking up wins away at teams like Liverpool.
"But it’s going to be tight and I think a point would be a good result for Arsenal. If I was to bet on it I would go with a draw, a 2-2 draw. Both defences with the firepower on the pitch will be vulnerable.
"Arsenal have been very good defensively but I do see goals in this game, so I’ll go for 2-2."
